Internet companies Illustration: VCG

More than 65.41 million pieces of harmful information have been deleted and more than 78,000 illegal accounts have been shut down for cyber violence in an annual special campaign to regulate internet activities, said Sheng Ronghua, deputy director of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), at a press conference on Tuesday.  

The special campaign, named Operation Qinglang, was launched by the CAC in 2021, aiming at tackling disorder on the internet and creating a better online ecosystem in China. 

Although the network ecological environment is constantly being optimized, there are still some prominent problems in the current network ecology that are highly concerning for netizens and that need to be relentlessly cracked down on, said Sheng.

Operation Qinglang has taken measures against network disorder, among which network groups, website forums, e-commerce, and other social media platforms have been scrutinized for rectification of cyber violence and a crackdown on the "internet water army," or those who are paid to post comments online, he continued.

The requirement to display the IP address of netizens on social media platforms along with the multi-channel network information can make the network fully subject to supervision, and effectively curb problems including improper marketing.

Online platforms have also been urged to ban hate speech and to suspend accounts involved in such activity to prevent the escalation and spread of cyber bullying. This includes the sending of risk alerts to users who may be at risk of cyberbullying.

Sheng noted that about 16.27 million pieces of harmful information, more than 5.28 million illegal accounts, and over 450,000 chat groups related to cyberbullying and the internet water army have been investigated by internet regulators.

The CAC will continue to cooperate with relevant departments, strengthen coordination, crack down on relevant illegal and criminal activities in accordance with the law, and provide a strong guarantee for building a sound network ecology, Sheng remarked.

Global Times